


i'll stop the world (and melt with you)

by hauntingyourbed



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: 80s gays, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, hurray for being gay during a dangerous time period!, i'll fix these tags as we go along, most of the show's characters will show up at some point, nicole haught has a dick because i say so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:20:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22661632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntingyourbed/pseuds/hauntingyourbed
Summary: it's 1984 and waverly just found out what bisexuality is through a david bowie interview. now, wynonna's best friend with the flame-hued hair and puppy-dog eyes is going to make her question just about everything else.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 15
Kudos: 210





	1. moving forward, using all my breath

The bean-shaped swimming pool out in the backyard illuminates an accumulating bout of fog as the moon tries to fight its way through the clouds. The stars blink and dance in a shred of endless sky, softly beaming down on a cluster of wet, drunken teenagers. It’s Friday night and Purgatory’s a small town. This is all they’ve got. This is all they’ve ever known.

Though it’s still technically summertime, Waverly Earp still shivers in the mid-September air as a sneak attack of wind almost causes her to lose her towel. Wynonna, her sister, is still splashing around with her newest boy toy, Xavier “Dolls”. The massive light positioned under the diving board in the deep end bathes them a pale yellow reminiscent of the moon.

“Waverly!” Rosita’s calling her. Waverly knows her best friend’s voice like she knows her own mother’s voice. It’s a symptom of being joined at the hip for over a decade. “We’ve got company!”

Waverly dries off to the best of her ability and stumbles back inside. The air conditioner’s cranked all the way up and she’s freezing. Champ’s sitting on the counter with a bottle of Budweiser in his hand. The other rests on top of his boombox as it cranks out Duran Duran’s newest single. He winks at her and she sighs with disappointment.

Rosita’s hiding behind the front door. “Get your ass over here,” she snaps, pointing out at three sets of headlights in the driveway. “Seniors, Wave. How do I know?” She’s already out of breath. Waverly told her to cut down on those cigarettes, but it’s clear that she opted not to listen. “Your dad only has his truck, sophomores can’t drive, and one of them is wolf-whistling at me like he thinks it’ll get him somewhere.”

“Shit,” Waverly grumbles. “I’ll fetch Wyn. She’ll get them out of here.”

“Wait a minute.” Rosita grabs Waverly’s wrist. “Do you think she invited them?”

Waverly’s eyes widen. “I didn’t even think of that!”

Rosita giggles. “It’s not  _ that  _ big of a deal if you really think about it. What’s the worst that could happen? I doubt Wynonna would blame you if the fuzz comes.”

“I suppose you’re right.” The back door slides open and in comes Wynonna and Dolls.

“Move it, nerds,” Wynonna says, yanking open the front door. “The fuck are you guys doin’ out on the driveway? Come on in! We’ve got booze and a pool, and everyone knows those two things mix perfectly. Whoever didn’t bring a swimsuit is totally lame!”

The three pairs of headlights shut off in succession and roughly twenty kids emerge from the darkness. Waverly can only watch in stunned silence; she never expected to party with seniors as a sophomore. That is, if Wynonna even introduced her to any of them.

Upon catching an earful of the hubbub, Champ and the remainder of Waverly’s friend group approach Wynonna’s incoming gang. Dolls smirks over at the latter.

“Jesus,” Wynonna mutters. “I had no clue that there were this many people are here.” She lets out a groan and surveys the open-concept living room and kitchen. “Cleaning up tomorrow is gonna suck. I might as well just get wasted so I don’t have to think about it until then, huh?”

Waverly smiles cheerfully. “I’ll help! I…”

She loses the rest of her sentence right there. As the rest of Wynonna’s pals file into the house, she sees a flash of red hair and a pair of wide, perceptive brown eyes. The girl’s very tall and well-built, but the softness of her facial features makes Waverly feel… safe.

“Hello?” She returns to reality as Wynonna starts waving in her face. “Earth to babygirl. I’ve gotta introduce you and the rest of your geek friends to my crew.”

“O-oh.” Waverly nods and her voice breaks. “T-totally!” The pitch of her voices raises as she realizes she’s gonna have to actually  _ talk _ to this girl. She’s nervous, but she obviously can’t tell anyone. No one knows she’s bisexual; as a matter of fact, most people don’t even know what bisexuality  _ is _ . She stumbled upon it while reading about David Bowie.

Everyone makes their way back out into the backyard. Some of Wynonna’s less-intelligent guy companions shed their jackets, t-shirts and jeans and dive right into the pool while the others hang back, cracking open a beer or pouring themselves a shot. In contrast, Wynonna drinks right out of the bottle because it’s “her house, goddammit”.

The girl with the flame-red hair and puppy-dog eyes keeps looking at Waverly and it’s driving her insane. The fog starts to thicken as they all sit crowded around the table on the deck, sharing stories and downing as much alcohol as they can manage.

Champ must’ve brought the radio outside. Age of Consent by New Order pumps from the speakers and the sequence of the synth makes Waverly feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. This really is the life. This is high school. This could never possibly end.

Chrissy, Stephanie and Jeremy seem to be getting on well with the seniors. Waverly glances to the left and, well, she can also say the same for Rosita. She’s sitting on that John Henry kid’s lap; the one who likes to be called Doc Holliday or something just as bizarre. Champ is bonding with quarterback Robert “Bobo” Svane over their love for The Police.

Waverly is surrounded by bodies, but she’s currently pretty lonely in comparison to all her buds. She frowns and traces the design of the metallic table, towel still draped over her shoulders. Everything’s so weird and new. What if it all keeps changing like this?

“Waverly, you’ve  _ got  _ to stop doing that.” Once again, Wynonna pulls her out of her reverie. “I think you need to have a beer, relax, and socialize. Whatcha think, babygirl?”

Waverly smiles crookedly. “I’ll go get one,” she replies. Wynonna’s right; she needs to loosen up a little. No one wants to roll with a potential party pooper.

The girl gets out of her seat and heads back indoors. As she pushes the back door closed behind her, Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads is abruptly cut off by silence. Midnight’s already only an hour away and she feels completely burnt.  _ Barf me out. _

Waverly heads into the kitchen and tugs a bottle of Heineken out of the refrigerator. Huffing out an exasperated sigh, she turns around and gets ready to storm back outside…

… Only to bump into the fabled flame-haired girl with those damned puppy-dog eyes.

“Shit!” The flame-haired girl exclaims, placing a hand on Waverly’s shoulder to steady the two of them. “My bad. I’m already a few drinks in and it’s really dark in here.”

“A-all good!” Waverly pipes up. “Don’t even worry about it… uh, what’s your name?”  _ Smooth.  _ This is how she’d find out who the hell this girl was.

The other girl smiles and Waverly’s convinced she’s going to die. Flame-haired girl’s teeth are bright and perfect.  _ Of course.  _ “Oh! Yeah,” she responds eagerly as two dimples dig shallow holes into either side of her mouth. “I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.”

“Nicole _what_?” Waverly blurts out what’s on her mind verbatim and instantly regrets it. This girl couldn’t be serious, though. Nicole _Haught_? Pronounced ‘ _hot’_? Come on.

Nicole chuckles softly. “I get that a lot,” she murmurs, opening the fridge and snatching a Bud. “I promise I’m not joking. Your sister said pretty much the same thing, but now she just makes a bunch of really bad puns out of it.” She pauses. “You  _ are _ Wynonna’s sister right?”

Waverly grins. “Guilty as charged!” She all but squeaks out.

Nicole shoots back a smirk. “Bitchin’,” she says. “Well… it was a pleasure meeting you, other Earp. Good thing I know your number, considering it’s the same as Wyn’s.”

Waverly’s heart almost leapt into her throat. “H-huh?”

“You’ll see when I give you a call,” Nicole answers nonchalantly, flipping the cap off of her beer bottle. “That is, if you don’t wanna continue our conversation out here.” She gestures to what lies beyond the half-open sliding glass door.

Waverly decides to play along. She’s virtually positive this Nicole chick is flirting with her. She had her ways; after visiting Toronto during the summer and investigating a handful of gay and lesbian bars, she knew how to pick up on the furtive vibes other queer people exuded. “What if I still want to call you after we talk tonight, though?”

Nicole blushes a little. “Sounds like an offer I can’t refuse.” Then, with a tip of an imaginary hat, she disappears outdoors. Waverly hears the briefest snippet of Bad Reputation by Joan Jett before it’s punctuated by a slam and more silence.

Waverly starts to sip at her own beer and stares at the ceiling, unable to fend off the smile that lights up her face. She then takes a deep breath and makes her way to the back door.

_ Righteous, Haught. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! hi! yes!!! i haven't used ao3 in almost 5 years and uh. literally nothing has changed. lucky me???
> 
> this is a pretty slow start but i wrote it all in one night and i kinda just wanted to get a foundation down. updates will probably be once or twice a week depending on my muse. this story's gonna be wild and fun and i hope y'all enjoy every bit of it!! i've had this concept floating around in my feral-ass brain for quite a while now and sacrificed my other wayhaught au draft to do this one instead. so please feed me your kudos and leave a comment for all this dedication >:0 see y'all next week!!


	2. making love to you was never second best

“Get up, Nicole!”

The red-haired girl couldn’t tell whether the bell or Wynonna smacking the back of her head with a book woke her up first. She rubbed the point of impact before propping herself up, scooting back in her chair, and getting to her feet as she slung her bookbag over her shoulder.

Wynonna shot her a boisterous smirk. “Can’t handle a few beers, Haught-shit?”

“Alcohol and I get along  _ just _ fine,” Nicole retorted with a playful roll of her eyes. “I’m genuinely tired, Wyn. Mrs. Lucado assigned an entire bio lab on Friday, and…” 

“It was due today.” Wynonna finished the sentence for her and pursed her lips together. “That’s rough, but hey… at least it’s lunchtime! Wanna go smoke a butt in my truck?”

Nicole’s eyes lit up. “Would I!”

—

Waverly shivered as she weaved through the high school parking lot. She pulled what used to be Rosita’s denim jacket over her shoulders and fished through one of the pockets for the other set of keys to Wynonna’s truck. The latter had the original, of course.

“Ugh,” she muttered under her breath. How did she forget her  _ lunch _ , of all things? Her stomach grumbled in admonishment as she unlocked and opened the passenger door.

A thick cloud of dark gray smoke greeted her and Waverly sputtered in an amalgamation of shock and surprise. She then climbed into the vehicle and glared into the backseat, eyes widening with regret once she saw that Wynonna wasn’t alone.

_ Nicole. _

Nicole looked a little spooked, but her facial expression quickly softened when she realized it was just Waverly. She smiled that signature smile and Waverly almost forgot that she’d just caught her smoking cigarettes in the truck with her older sister.

“ _ Heeey _ , little sis!” Wynonna grinned. “Don’t mind us. Your lunch is in the glove compartment.”

“You  _ told  _ me you don’t smoke in here anymore.” Waverly let out a huff and crossed her arms. “I  _ knew  _ the smell of stale cigarettes was coming back. Put it out, Wyn!”

Wynonna took off her sunglasses and and scrunched her nose. “What’s your damage, Waves? This is  _ my _ car. We’ll still get money for it if we decide to sell it in the future.”

Waverly’s ears burned with embarrassment. She didn’t want to start an argument in front of Nicole. “Whatever,” she mumbled. “Just keep the windows open next time.”

“You’re welcome to stay here with us if you want,” Nicole piped up, hands clasped over her lap. “If Wynonna gives you any grief, I’ll put her right back in her place. I still have to get my revenge on her for almost giving me a concussion last period.”

“You  _ what? _ ” Waverly burst out, only noticing how ardent she’d been when it was far too late. “Not cool, Wyn. You need to, like, take a chill pill.”

“She’s exaggerating.” Wynonna took one last drag of the cigarette before passing it to Nicole. “You can finish it, Nicky.”

Nicole let out a dismayed groan. “You  _ know _ I don’t like that nickname!”

“No duh.”

Nicole shook her head and fought off a chuckle as she pressed the barely-lit cig against her lips and breathed in. Waverly watched and, all of a sudden, found herself unable to look away. Her eyes were glued to Nicole’s glossed-up, slightly-parted mouth.

_ I wonder how she tastes… _

“Hmm. Interesting.”

Waverly’s eyes trailed up to meet Nicole’s.

_ Shit! _

Waverly’s face flushed and she broke contact.

Wynonna was too busy staring at the ceiling.  _ Thank fuck.  _ Why had Nicole said that, though? What was so interesting? Surely the girl knew by now. She knew that Waverly wasn’t straight. Very few straight girls stared at other girl’s lips for extended periods of time.

“I think I’m gonna have a get-together on Friday,” Nicole suddenly mused.

“Count me in,” Wynonna answered, raising a hand.

Nicole quirked an eyebrow and bit her lip. “How about you, Wave?”

“Umm…” Waverly cleared her throat. “I’m in, too.”

“Wicked.” Nicole squashed the butt against the car window and watched the ashes trickle down. “Y’know, I really wanted to go see a movie this weekend.”

“Why don’t we do that too?” Wynonna slumped even further in her seat.

“Nothing good’s out.”

Waverly nodded in agreement. “The last good flick this year was The Karate Kid.”

“Hey, what about Ghostbusters?” Nicole asked. “That was fuckin’ sick!”

“That came out before The Karate Kid.”

“Hey, don’t forget about Purple Rain!” Wynonna protested.

Nicole jabbed Wynonna in the side, causing her to laugh. “What, d’ya like Prince or something?” Wynonna shrank away in a fit of giggles and Nicole continued to poke at her. “C’mon, tell us! Are you a secret Prince fan, Nonna? Do you sing When Doves Cry in the shower when you and Dolls get in a fight on the telephone?”

“Quit it!” Wynonna shouted sheepishly. “C’mon, now!”

Waverly climbed into the backseat and piled on top of the two girls. “Enough, you two!” She roared. “Everyone likes Prince, even if they won’t admit it!”

Though she was being smothered, Wynonna’s next statement wasn’t too muffled for the others to make out. “She’s right! Prince is a goddamn legend in the making!”

Nicole pulled herself free and ran a hand through her hair before climbing into the front seat and, eventually, out of the truck. “Later, geeks!” She called out with a joking flip of the bird. “Waves, tell your crew about my party! Let’s make it the blowout of the semester!”

Waverly saluted Nicole as she fetched her brown paper bag out of the glove compartment. “You won’t be disappointed!”

—

The neighborhood that Wynonna and Waverly lived in was nice and quaint. Though the sidewalks were cracked and the roads had way too many potholes, Waverly liked it quite a lot. It had… character. She’d spent her entire life here. It was home.

Waverly sat at the breakfast nook in the kitchen and tapped her chin with a pencil. Geometry wasn’t nearly as easy as Wynonna had said it was. Then again…

“Waverly!”

Speak of the devil. She sounded upset, too.

Loud footfalls cascaded down the stairs and came closer until Wynonna almost tripped into the kitchen. “Look at this!” Wynonna shrieked. “Look! Now!”

Waverly glanced up. A… a Playboy magazine?

“Okay, gross,” she responded. “You’d think Dad was too old for that.”

“No.” Wynonna’s face was whiter than a sheet. “It’s Willa’s… I think.”

“H-huh?”

“I’m not joshing you, Waves. I was going through Willa’s room because I wanted to see if she had any pot.” Wynonna tossed the magazine onto the kitchen counter with disgust. “Maybe a boyfriend of hers left it here. I dunno. Would Willa really be a… queer?”

“What’s so wrong with ‘queers’?” The word felt foreign on Waverly’s tongue. Almost no one their age used that slur. “Also, why  _ that  _ word? No one says that anymore.”

“I’ve been trying to kick it.” Wynonna nodded. “My bad. I don’t have an issue with them. It’s just… you never think it’s gonna be a family member. Y’know, if it’s really hers.”

Waverly could feel herself starting to panic. She didn’t want Wynonna to think anything of her in that regard. Not yet, at least. She needed to change the subject.

“What about a friend?”

“Hmm?” Wynonna raised an eyebrow as she tossed the magazine in the trash.

“Do you ever think one or more of your friends may be?”

Wynonna shrugged. “No clue. Gay people aren’t common, and if they are, then most of them are in hiding. Bowie’s the only really famous one. Freddie Mercury’s also gay, but he hasn’t said anything about it. I think it’s because he knows that everyone knows.”

“Bowie’s bisexual,” Waverly corrected. “Jeremy’s gay. He told us. Remember?”

Wynonna frowned. “Oh, yeah. Him and that Robin kid. They’re very close.”

“Do you think Nicole’s gay?” Waverly didn’t mean to let it just slip out, but she was genuinely curious. Though Wynonna was a little close-minded, she wasn’t blind.

Wynonna didn’t reply.

“Wy?”

“Don’t ask her.” Wynonna started fixing herself a sandwich. “I have my suspicions, but it’s none of my business. I’ve known Nicole since freshman year and in those three years, she’s told me… things. I’m sure she’ll marry a man, though. It’s just how it is.”

“You’d think men could marry men and women could marry women now that the government has that whole separation of church and state thing is in order.” Waverly finished the last question of her geometry homework and put it back in her binder. “It’s pretty unfair to them.”

“Since when were you so socially aware?” Wynonna snorted. “Don’t worry about stuff like that, Waves. It doesn’t apply to you. You’re gonna marry Champ just fine.”

Waverly’s jaw dropped in disgust. “Ew! I hate you.”

—

_ “Hey, Wy. Can I talk to Waverly?” _

Wynonna glanced over at the clock on the wall. “It’s fuckin’ late, Nic,” she said. “Waves is getting ready for bed and I’m going out for a bogie, so I’m hanging up.”

_ “Wait!” _

Wynonna stared down the unlit cigarette perched between her index and middle fingers. “What?”

_ “I need to ask her who she’s inviting to my shindig.” _

A sigh. “Fine.” Wynonna covered the receiver. “Waves! Nicole wants to talk to you!!”

Waverly was in the middle of brushing her teeth and almost dropped her toothbrush upon hearing that Nicole had… called her? She rinsed with some water before sprinting down the stairs. “Okaythankshavefunsmokingthat!” Waverly exclaimed as she shooed her sister away.

Wynonna have her a suspicious look as she stepped outside and closed the sliding door behind her. “Yeah, yeah. Just get in bed. Dad hates coming home to us still being up.”

“Hello?”

_ “Hey.”  _ Waverly could hear Nicole smile through the phone and nearly melted.  _ “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow afternoon… like, alone.” _

“Oh!” Waverly tried in vain to contain her excitement. “Y-yeah! Sounds, uh, totally rad.”

_ “Perfect. You know, I was deliberately trying to deter Wynonna from thinking any good movies were out this week so we could go without her… catching us.” _

Waverly’s heart leapt into her throat.  _ Catch us doing what? _

_ “I heard Until September’s a pretty cheesy one. We should go make fun of it. Whatcha say?” _

“I say yes.” Waverly was grinning ear to ear. She couldn’t help it. “Where do I meet you?”

_ “Tomorrow. After school. Go to the side parking lot and I’ll be there in a black Firebird.” _

Waverly twirled the telephone cord. “I’ll see you then.”

Nicole chuckled faintly.  _ “Goodnight, Waverly,” _ she said before hanging up.

“Who’d Nicole let you invite to her party?” Wynonna asked as she stepped back inside and tried to dry herself off. “Ugh, it was raining so hard that I couldn’t keep my ciggie lit.”

“Huh?” Waverly mumbled before realizing that Nicole had likely used that as her cover. “Ahh, yeah. She said I could bring Rosita, Chrissy, Stephanie, Champ, and Jeremy. I’m surprised she’s cool with so many freshmen. Isn’t she such a great friend?”

“Always has been,” Wynonna answered casually. “Anyways, let’s go to bed.”

Waverly followed her older sister up the stairs. “Night, Nonna,” she murmured before parting ways with the latter, entering her own room, and shutting the door behind her.

Waverly’s mind started racing the moment she locked herself in. All of this was happening so fast! She opened the door to her closet and peered inside, trying to put together an outfit for tomorrow. What the hell did Nicole like? She barely even knew her.

After some deliberation, she decided on a black short-sleeve button-down shirt with fun and colorful miscellaneous patterns coupled with her favorite dark wash straight-leg jeans. She’d also bring her teal Members Only jacket in case it got cold out. Then, to top it all off, she’d strut her way into Nicole’s heart in a pair of black high-top Chuck Taylors.

Well, ideally she would.

Waverly yawned and turned off her lamp before situating herself under the covers of her bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while and thought about herself and her identity.

Was it always be like this? Would the world always be such a cruel place?

What if her and Nicole fell in love? Would it always have to be a secret? Would they ever be able to get married in  _ any  _ country? How would they raise kids?

Turning over on her side, Waverly closed her eyes.

None of that bullshit mattered.

Not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing this is so much fun. i can literally write an entire chapter in one sitting. like, this only took me an hour. i literally live! for! this! story !!!
> 
> enjoy! kudos, comments, and the like are appreciated. oh, and thank you so much for all the support in chapter one! i was not expecting that much. i appreciate y'all sm !!
> 
> follow me on tumblr once i make one.
> 
> bye for now!


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